YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Neighbors woke up this morning to find that the area’s beloved Holocaust Memorial Park, New York City’s only public Holocaust memorial, was the target of what appears to be anti-Semitic vandalism last night.

Police responded to a call for a possible bias incident at the park, located on West End Avenue between Emmons Avenue and Shore Boulevard. A vandal had spray-painted the word “Fuck” next to a Star of David on the base of the Eternal Light – the centerpiece of the memorial – according to Councilman Michael Nelson’s chief of staff, Chaim Deutsch.

Police are currently on the scene, though it’s unclear if the incident will be investigated as a bias crime. We are awaiting a response from NYPD.

Inna Stavisky, president of the Holocaust Memorial Committee, which cares for and manages the memorial in conjunction with the Parks Department, was taken aback over the news.

“This is just another act of terrorism, of vandalism in Brooklyn, which is very very sad to hear about,” she told Sheepshead Bites.

Deutsch told us that another incident of hate-related vandalism occurred in Borough Park last night, at 1347 48th Street. A vandal painted a swastika in the building’s elevator.

UPDATE (1:00 p.m.): Midwood resident Moisey Vaysman was the first to call police about the vandalism, after stumbling upon it at approximately 9:00 a.m. Vaysman said he comes to the park twice a month to honor the memory of friends and family who perished during the Holocaust, and whose names are inscribed in the park’s stones.

“This is a big tragedy,” Vaysman said. “Millions of people were killed, and this is the memory for everybody so it never happens again.”

Vaysman said he’s seen anti-Semitic markings in the park five or six times before, but never called police. This time, though, he took action for fear that the vandals will escalate their misdeeds.

“Somebody’s trying to make trouble. The trouble next time will be more than now” if we don’t do something about it, he said.

Vaysman added that he’d like to see small battery-powered cameras installed in the park.

Councilman Nelson stopped by the site before detectives arrived, and expressed outrage at the disrespect for parkgoers.

“This area is the grave for the departed,” he said. “A lot of people come here, they pray here. This is like a punch in the heart.”

In addition to the graffiti, a broken bottle and shattered glass were found at the base of the Eternal Light. On the stone itself – near where the hateful words were scrolled – two footprints were left in the graffiti, which may give detectives a lead.

“I think it’s a disgusting, horrible thing that looks like it was done by children,” said Community Board 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo, who surveyed the scene and noticed the small size of the footprints. “It’s a disgusting thing to be done in a place like this.”

Councilman Lew Fidler sent a statement out to press, noting, “The placement of anti-Semitic graffiti at the Holocaust Memorial Park shows us graphically that the lessons of history have not been learned by all. Choosing this location is particularly hateful and shows the callous ignorance of the perpetrator.”

He added that he looks forward to an arrest and “vigorous prosecution.”

A Parks Department employee was on the scene with a power washer, and told Sheepshead Bites that the graffiti will be removed as soon as he has the green-light from investigators. He expects it will be done today.

Police have not yet ruled the incident a bias crime. As of 12:50 p.m., detectives had not yet arrived on the scene. Local detectives will determine whether or not to refer the case to the Hate Crimes Unit, said a police officer on the scene.

UPDATE (3:43 p.m.): The NYPD has confirmed that both this incident and the incident in Borough Park are being investigated as possible bias incidents and have been referred to the Hate Crimes Unit.

Source: Butch Moran

Source: Butch Moran

A footprint made in spray paint, believed to be from the vandal (Photo by Ned Berke)

This is a breaking news story and may contain inaccuracies. We will update it as more information becomes available. If anyone has more information or additional photos, please send them to tips (at) sheepsheadbites (dot) com.

Disgusting. A huge reward for the arrest should be offered.
From the look of the graffiti a youngster punk who has no clue what he/she has done.
Education is lacking in respect and understanding of what Holocaust is.
Shameful.

Justice

People have to realize that whether they agree with someone elses religion or not, they need to respect everyone’s believes. What has the world come to? So much hate crime, all from people who have nothing better to do, too laze to be out in public, work hard, and be a normal person. Shame on all those who promote hate crimes.

Anonymous

Not at all. Some beliefs deserve ridicule.

Nefariousgoy21

How terrible! Spray paint is Terrorism!

We need more police protection. Give them machine guns to protect us. It is time for stronger measure. Video Cameras must be everywhere and since it is non-Jews doing this in a Jewish neighborhood, every goyim must be made to wear a big yellow cross on their clothing to more easily identify the troublemakers.

Spray paint is Terrorism!

10-1 it turns out to be another mentally unstable Jew, looking for attention or more police “protection.”

Guest

I agree with your post….

I’m by this park a lot. A lot of degenerates hang out there. I’m surprised the park has survived untill now without major vandalism.

I doubt if the punky kid who did this even has serious anti-semitic views. Probably just a kid looking to be a troublemaker, use the spray-paint can he’s so happy to get. He’s in a Jewish Memorial, what’s he going to write, of course.

Making a huge deal out of this? Gosh, I hope murderers and rapists aren’t going free that would have been caught had the police not been forced by grandstanding local politicians to make a major issue of this and devote precious resources. I’ll trade such vandalism for a decline in murders and violent crimes any day. This act is insulting to me, but I don’t feel a bullet or knife in my back.

Catch the kid, make him sit through a 3 hour presentation, with photographs, of the meaning, severity, and tragedy of the holocaust. A few pictures I think will provide him with a little perspective, if he’s at all human.

aherring

You’re being sarcastic, huh, ‘Nefarious’? I detect a note of fed-up-ness with Jews complaining about bias incidents: ‘big yellow cross’ for ‘every goyim’? You’re clearly not ignorant about history. Shame.

MyBrooklyn

I hope they or I would catch these bastards…and if i
found out that’s a liberal self hating jew who have done this…I would bash
their head into ground if opportunity arises

Doobieman

And what if it’s one of the fascist Ultra Orthodox, lile the one’s in Isreal a few weeks ago, those lunitics , waiting for a savoir,who never come.

OY!!

liberal self hating Jews? and YOU would bash someones head in? glad I don’t have to live in YOUR Bklyn… and please keep your self hating Political views and your headbashing attitude out of MY Bklyn… you are as warped as the people who used that spray paint

Kon

The culprits should be castrated.

Tatertot

The best way to prevent such actions, is to provide absolutely no coverage, and divert minimal attention to such occurrences. If you write articles, and have a police presence then this will provide a stimulus to these mischievous petty criminals to only further expand their spray painting operations throughout Brooklyn.

Children learn bad behavior from what they observe around them. The origins of this can be traced to adults. It’s the adults that need to clean their thoughts of hate. They are poisoning the minds of the young.

EndofDaze

“Beloved Holocaust Memorial Park’?!…Pleeeeeze! Beloved, were those systematically murdered by the Nazis during World War II, just because they happened to be Jews. Contrary to what many might think, Jews haven’t always been victims, but rather have contributed mightily to whatever positive contributuions our modern world has benefited by, way out of proportion to their numbers. A fact easily forgotten, in a Brooklyn engulfed with a growing Hasidic, Syrian Orthodox, and Black Hat population, who still are relatively few, when one considers the whole tribe. Of course you would never know it if you lacked an education, and lived in the New Brooklyn! The Park while a good intention, is pretty much ignored by most folks (especially many of our newcomers, who probably either never met a Jew, of any stripe, in their lives, or heard about them by reading The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and other such fantasies.) As for that four letter word, being an “Act of Terrorism”, we are in a lot of trouble becasue me thinks I hear it coming out of the mouths of a lot of Brooklynites, and inscribed on occasion in a number of places around our booming borough!

love one another

It amazes me. That we live in a world where were supposed to love one another. And every time we go one step forward. We go two steps back. We live in a world where it doesnt matter where your from. How hard our parents worked when they came to this country. How we try to build a foundation for our children. But they have a mind of their own. Ignorance is a bliss. But it was taken care of. And we move forward. Puerto Rican speaking here.

These things are often just dumb kids looking for attention, but they sometimes evolve when unchecked. An Orthodox man was attacked and beaten in Sheepshead Bay a few weeks ago. Also, the murders in the Sikh temple in Wisconsin should serve as a reminder that we do have to watch for signs of hate very carefully.

proudjew

every time it’s something against jews the suspects come out, “its just some dumb kids” or “no big deal, just a prank”. This is the typical reaction from “liberal” self hating jews. If this was against a muslim “anything” you would see riots in the streets, calls for new hate law protection against those who hate muslims, or blacks, or hispanics or any other minority, and it would be a jewish lawyer from the ACLU leading the charge along with that idiot Bloomberg. But the moment any Jew stands up with a reaction as stated in comments like bashing heads, the rest of you just blow them off as nuts. Its about time the Jewish people stand up for themselves, because i unlike you know why my parents brought me from Russia years ago, and what America represents for me. Most people forget that this is exactly how these things begin, small, isolated incidents, that lead to bigger ones. Most of us Russian immigrants have not forgotten why we came and what happened, and feel any so called “pranks” against our memorials cannot be ignored. To the “nefariousgoy” you are uneducated, tasteless and are you tired of all of the other minorities complaining as well, because unlike us jews, they actually get things done and get organized. Never forget, never again.

ES

Amen.

Old Sheepshead Hand

Ever hear of Israel? Last I checked, us Jews have done pretty well in the Learning-to-be-tough-bad-ass department. Maybe Woody Allen never picked up on it, but there is this whole country now with an army and an air force and elite kung fu squads and the backing of the United States and they do it while being a democracy in the face of nations who hate its existence.

So instead of falling on the “historical victim” approach, which is pretty weak-minded and shows a lack of strength, why not think of the “historical comeback” approach? Vandalism is not the first sign of the slippery slope back to the concentration camps. It is a sign of a last gasp of a way of thinking that clearly is on the way out. As the kids used to say, “check yourself before you wreck yourself”.

I sort of know who may have spray painted this. If I’m right and it’s them, trust me these people are already living in hell. They were upset and did stupid things, but I doubt they meant any crazy things people mentioned here. I also doubt putting them to prison will make their lives any easier.

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